


Just Tired

by A Small World (Datawolf39)



Series: Start of Something Small [5]
Category: Numb3rs (TV)
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Fluff, Gen, cuteness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-15 19:45:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17535047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Datawolf39/pseuds/A%20Small%20World
Summary: Charlie is tired. Don comes to the house and puts him to bed.





	Just Tired

“Charles!” Larry said firmly, in a way that suggested that he had been calling his friend's name for a while.

The curly-haired mathematician's head snapped up so that he was looking at his friend. “Yes, yeah sorry, I just…”

“Charles, I know the subject is boring,” Larry said pointing at a chalkboard filled with writing, “even still, I can't help noticing how distracted you are. Are you alright?”

“Fine, just a little sleepy,” he said, punctuating the statement with a yawn. “I was up late working a case for Don, and I had a few classes this morning.”

“Ah, the age old tale of burning the candle at both ends. Just try not to be too much like Atlas, alright?”

“I leave that to Don,” Charlie said with a laugh.

~

He got home eight hours later. The house was dark, and he could dimly remember his dad saying something about going out, but that memory was in the hazy far away land of yesterday. 

After dumping his bag haphazardly on the table, Charlie made his way over to the couch, navigating the stairs in this condition would not end well. Navigating a flat surface was currently a challenge, gravity at its finest, so stairs were something that he would much rather avoid.

He’d meant to come home hours ago, if he had then the stairs wouldn't be such a monumental task, but Don had called needing his help, and then there was that thing he had to do for Cal Sci, only to be distracted by Amita, and some students seeking extra tutoring to prepare for an exam, and before he knew it, night had come, and he was ready to fall asleep on his feet.

He was so tired in fact that he was only partly able to control his descent into the sofa, before he was asleep.

~

“Yeah, I’ll check… I’ll let him know. Have a nice time dad,” Don said, locking the door as he came in.

A quick look into the living room showed why Charlie wasn’t answering his phone. He was curled up on the sofa- wait was his thumb in his mouth? Don snapped a quick picture, before taking pity on his little brother, and deciding to wake him up. His bed had to be far more comfortable than the living room sofa.

“Charlie, buddy, wake up, come on, let’s get you to bed,” he said giving him a shake.

“Go ‘way,” came the response. Words garbled due to the digit in his mouth, and the fact that he was barely awake.

Don laughed, and shook him again.

Charlie blinked up at him, and Don stopped laughing. His brother looked confused, like he couldn’t recognize him. “You alright, Charlie?”

Charlie blinked, and the confusion seemed to clear. “I fine,” he said, in a way that convinced Don he was quite the opposite.

He sat up, swaying, as though he were on a boat, and rubbing at his eyes. There was no warning before the tears started. There was not much sound accompanying the them, they were just quiet tears.

For a moment, Don was in shock, he had seen Charlie go through a lot, he was his brother after all so he had seen him cry before. 

Some of the worst things he had seen him go through were a consequence of working with the FBI and others the consequence of his intelligence, but the tears still worried Don. Even when he was young, Charlie rarely let someone see him cry. One of Don's regrets was being the cause of some of those tears.

It brought out the big brother in him, right now, and made him wonder if he needed to go perform some acts of brotherly vengeance.

He was so deep in his thoughts, that he was startled when Charlie got up. Sharply honed reflexes, and the required physical capabilities, were the only things that allowed him to catch his brother as he began to fall over.

“Whoa, what happened?”

“Going bed. Wanna sleep,” Charlie mumbled as though it was obvious, after all it had been Don's reason for waking him. 

Don relaxed a bit. Charlie was asleep on his feet and that was the likely cause of the tears, given his lack of distress. Don felt a little guilty though, knowing that part of the reason that Charlie was so tired was from helping him solve cases. He wouldn't stop asking though, not only because Charlie was good at what he did, but because Charlie would kill him and then work cases with the police just to spite him.

“Okay, good plan, just let me help you get there, okay?”

He felt a nod from where Charlie’s head rested on him.

It took ten minutes to navigate the stairs, mostly that was due to the fact Charlie was half asleep. When they got to his room, Don helped him over to his bed. Pajamas were out of the question for tonight, so Don settled for getting Charlie undressed to his shirt and boxers, and tucked him in.

“Night Charlie,” Don called out. He figured his brother would be asleep and not hear him, but he still said it anyway.

“Night big brother,” came the reply.

Don smiled and went downstairs. He had it on good authority that a plate of lasagna was waiting for him in the fridge.

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't tag ageplay or regression because technically it doesn't happen in this fic (although it is alluded to). I'm putting it in a series with my regression fics because that is what it will become if I make a series of it. In my mind it will be Little!Charlie, Caregiver!Don and later, after Don sees how it helps Charlie, they would switch roles.
> 
> Let me know if there is any interest in a series like that.


End file.
